Carrot cake kale chips with coconut butter frosting

Out kayaking on a windy afternoon

I went kayaking! My son gave me a quick lesson and off I went with an inflatable kayak into choppy water. The water sloshed into my little "Firefly" but I kept on paddling. It was great fun except for our encounter with the government shutdown.

What did our kayaking adventure have to do with the government shutdown? We have a lake about 8 miles from our home but it's part of a national wildlife refuge and was closed because of the government shutdown. We didn't know that when we headed out to this nearby lake. Talk about a downer when we discovered it was closed. We were thirsting for kayaking so we drove 100 miles round trip to reach another body of water. What do you think? Should the government compensate us for our extra gas?

Carrot cake kale chips with coconut butter frosting

I had a choppy start to my first kayaking trip but after paddling around for a few hours everything seemed right with the world. Things got even better when I made some Carrot Cake Kale Chips with Coconut Butter Frosting.

 Here's what you need:

2 medium carrots, peeled and steamed
1 bunch kale
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 T. softened coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. coconut flakes
vanilla stevia, to taste
coconut frosting: 2 T. coconut butter and 2 T. coconut oil

Here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Note: As an option, you also could use a dehydrator and raw carrots. Steam and cool carrots. Wash and tear kale into bite-sized pieces. Place the kale in a large bowl.

Puree the carrots with coconut milk, cinnamon, coconut oil, stevia and 1 T. coconut flakes in a food processor. Massage the carrot mixture into the kale with your hands. Try to make sure all the kale pieces are covered.

Place on several large baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Sprinkle with additional coconut flakes and cinnamon, if desired. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes or until kale is crispy.

To serve, place some of the chips on a plate and drizzle with softened coconut butter.

Yes, it was that good!!!!!

Recipe contributed to:
http://www.rickiheller.com/2013/10/wellness-weekend-october-17-21-2013/#more-20950

http://wholenewmom.com/traditional-tuesday/pumpkin-caramel-swirl-brownies-pumpkin-whoopie-pies-sweet-potato-cupcakes-chocolate-pumpkin-brownies-and-kfc-coleslaw-sf/ 

 http://www.glutenfreecat.com/2013/10/raw-foods-thursday-october-24-2013/